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The windshield on my 01 is still good, no wind noise, no leaks.
But the black rubber/plastic trim surrounding the windshield (esp the top, near the roof) has cracked & has chunks missing, gaps.
Question is that can I just go to any glass store (auto glass) to have them replace the trim at a reasonable price, or do I have to go to BMW dealer to have the whole windshield taken out to replace the trim?
Thanks,

I bought one a couple of months ago from our local BMW dealer. With the BMWCCA discount, it was $37 or $38 as I remember. Haven't gotten around to putting it in yet, but there are a couple of DIY's on the topic and it does not look too hard - although I'm afraid I'm going to suffer from some complications related to an improperly installed windshield. We will see.

Thanks,
Just called my local BMW dealer parts dept, Yep, they have it in stock, part #51317172022, cost $33. He says it's double sided tape, peel & stick. He's not sure about whether we can do this ourselves, or have the dealer install it... Does anyone know? It just sounds too easy...?

I believe the part I was referring to is 51318125887. It is the rubber gasket that is installed on the top edge of the windshield and extends just past each top corner. This trim piece has an internal aluminum channel that goes over the top edge glass itself and then sort of "rolls down" into place. At least that's how I remember the DIY instructions I read describing its' installation. I believe they can be found on www.e38.org. I've pulled mine out, but have not installed the new one. I think I've got to remove some excess urethane adhesive from a sloppy windshield installation before I can properly install the gasket.

Replace the upper trim on my windshield and I am still getting a lot of wind noise and it is getting worse. There are crackes in the lower trim as well. Could this be the cause? Is it something I can replace? I read a post on bimmerboard and it talked about the winshields on these cars are very tempermental and must be positioned with exact measurements. There is even an 11 pages of instructions on how to do it that they advise giving to the installer. I would love to be able to fix without replacing windshield. Any ideas??

I just replaced this upper trim on my 2001 740iL. Picked up the piece from my local BMW dealer for $45 or something like that. Took me about an hour to finish the whole job. I put the instructions with photos on my site - hope it doesn't get filtered out: replace windshield trim

Replace the upper trim on my windshield and I am still getting a lot of wind noise and it is getting worse. There are crackes in the lower trim as well. Could this be the cause? Is it something I can replace? I read a post on bimmerboard and it talked about the winshields on these cars are very tempermental and must be positioned with exact measurements. There is even an 11 pages of instructions on how to do it that they advise giving to the installer. I would love to be able to fix without replacing windshield. Any ideas??

Well the trims upper and lower are just finishers. It is known that if a replacement screen is not postioned correctly, then you will get wind noise...

I have a 2001 and just before I bought it the PO had the windshield replaced. Top trim is new and the sides look pretty new also. 11 pages of instructions?? I have wind noise but have no reference point as i bought it with the new windshield. The side strips are up off the glass with a gap. is that normal or is it supposed to be flush to the windshield??

- The main causes of bimmer wind noise, from the BMW TIS on missing jack pads (0) (1) (2) (3) or from a crumbled windshield cover molding gasket (1) (2) (3) or from a badly replaced windshield (1) or from the door weatherstripping (1) or from the cabin air filter housings (1) or loose sunroof drainpipes inside the A-pillar (1) and how to test window glass wind noise by taping the windows (1) (2)

Installed my windshield trim using Nickh's posted instructions. Using the petroleum grease truly was a major help as I tried without using it first. I have not drive the car yet to see if noise is reduced. Next big task is changing the filters under the dash, but that is a different post. Thank God for my fellow BMW enthusiast.